Kanaka Creek is an historic rural residential area located within Maple Ridge,

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada, along the banks of the creek of the same name just east of the district's main town and commercial core of Haney. Just east is

Albion Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than "Britain" today. The name for Scot ...

and immediately across the Fraser River is

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

or "Old Fort Langley", upstream from which and opposite Albion is

Fort Langley Fort Langley is a village community in Township of Langley, British Columbia, Canada. It has a population of approximately 3,400 people. It is the home of Fort Langley National Historic Site, a former fur trade post of the Hudson's Bay Company ...

. Kanaka Creek was settled by Hawaiian natives in the employ of the

Hudson's Bay Company The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), originally the Governor and Company of Adventurers of England Trading Into Hudson’s Bay, is a Canadian holding company of department stores, and the oldest corporation in North America. It was the owner of the ...

, known as

Kanakas Kanakas were workers (a mix of voluntary and Blackbirding, involuntary) from various Pacific Islands employed in British Empire, British colonies, such as British Columbia (Canada), Fiji, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, and Queen ...

, often with local indigenous, usually Kwantlen, wives. Once a thriving community linked closely to the affairs of the fort, like the

rancherie A rancherie is a First Nations residential area of an Indian reserve in colloquial English throughout the Canadian province of British Columbia. Originating in an adaptation of ''ranchería'', a Californian term for the residential area of a '' ra ...

outside

Fort Vancouver Fort Vancouver was a 19th-century fur trading post built in the winter of 1824–1825. It was the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company's Columbia Department, located in the Pacific Northwest. Named for Captain George Vancouver, the fort was ...

, Kanaka Creek dwindled somewhat when the fort was located further upstream, although some of the original families stayed on for decades. The area has long since been subdivided and is a suburban neighbourhood now, with Kanaka Creek Road, along the creek's west bank, the main arterial, which like the creek runs generally northeast, finally becoming 232nd Street to connect to the

Dewdney Trunk Road The Dewdney Trunk Road was one of the earliest major roads in the Fraser Valley of British Columbia, Canada. Originally running from Port Moody to Dewdney, British Columbia, Dewdney, just east of Mission, British Columbia, Mission, it exists in th ...

. Upstream, to the northeast, is Kanaka Creek Regional Park and street connections to Webster's Corners and 240th Street. Although mostly suburban the neighbourhood retains a greenbelt quality because of the protection of the creek by its park and as a salmon spawning stream, and there are still farms operating in some parts of the area.

References

*{{BCGNIS, 3015, Kanaka Creek (creek) Hudson's Bay Company Neighbourhoods in Maple Ridge, British Columbia Populated places on the Fraser River Lower Mainland Hawaiian diaspora

See also

References